The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for June 18, 2025

Organizers estimate more than 5 million Americans attended the more than 2,000 “No Kings” rallies around the U.S. on June 14th.  It’s likely to be in the top five mass protests of all time.

Protesters decried President Donald Trump’s overreach in executive orders, dismantling of voting rights and civil rights, depriving due process, and his restrictions on federal elections among many grievances.  One independent estimate put the turnout between 4.6 and 6 million Americans.

During the flagship rally in Philadelphia, where an estimated 80,000 flooded the plaza near the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers said, “Our founders … said ‘no’ to kings 250 years ago, precisely because they believed in the consent of the governed.   Although they were far from perfect they did believe in the values we try to make real today:  Freedom, liberty, justice and opportunity for all.”

Rallies were almost all peaceful, but marred by the politically-motivated murders of a former Minnesota state House speaker and her husband, a deliberate car attack in Virginia, and a late-day clash between police and a handful of protesters in Los Angeles. 

The Declaration for American Democracy has announced plans for nationwide “Good Trouble Lives On” rallies for July 17, remembering Congressman John Lewis.

We’ve linked a video of Philadelphia’s rally at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

PBS NewsHour – Millions turn out nationwide for ‘No Kings’ protests against Trump administration
Rolling Stone (via Yahoo News)  – Trump Parade Turnout Swamped by Millions Who Protested at ‘No Kings’ Rallies
USA Today – ‘No Kings’ organizers say protests drew large crowds: Here are their estimates
The Guardian – Los Angeles police fire teargas to disperse crowds at Trump protest
NBC News 10 Phildelphia – Recap: ‘No Kings’ rally ends in Philly after thousands march against Trump
50501 / NoKings.org – Live Stream of No Kings Rally in Philadelphia 

Groups Taking Action:

50501, Indivisible, Declaration for American Democracy, Partners in No Kings Rally

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State

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#News #Democracy  #DemocracyNews #NoKings #50501 #GoodTrouble

The post ‘No Kings’ Rally Organizers Estimate More than 5 Million Protesters Gathered at More Than 2,000 Locations appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for March 10, 2025

March 7th marked 60 years since Black Americans, demanding their right to vote, were brutally beaten and gassed by their government in Selma, Alabama.  The ‘Blood Sunday’ attack outraged many Americans, resulting in passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Despite the 1870 passage of the 15th Amendment prohibiting discrimination based on “race, color or previous enslavement,” African Americans endured almost a century of often violent Jim Crow barriers to voting.

Demanding equal access, an estimated 600 activists began a march from Selma to Montgomery when they were met by 150 Alabama state troopers and sheriff deputies, blocking passage over the Edmund Pettus bridge.  Police, wielding batons and tear gas, waded into the crowd, brutally beating marchers, including future Congressman John Lewis.  At least 58 marchers were injured.

News cameras captured the attack, broadcast that night during peak Sunday night viewing.  Millions of Americans spoke out against the brutality, and by March 17th, the Voting Rights Act was introduced in Congress, enforcing the 15th Amendment.  On March 25th, Dr. Martin Luther King led an estimated 3,200 activists from around the country to complete the march.       

On August 6th, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was signed into law. In 2025, that law is under attack.  More on that tomorrow.   We thank the Smithsonian for use of Carl Benkert’s Selma march recordings.  

Find much more at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
National Park Service – Bloody Sunday

National Archives –  John Lewis – March from Selma to Montgomery, “Bloody Sunday,” 1965National Archives – Voting Rights Act of 1965
Campaign Legal Center – Bloody Sunday Remembered: 60 Years Later
National Interest – Media Historian on “Bloody Sunday” and the Late Rep. John Lewis
Axios – Civil rights questions cloud “Bloody Sunday” anniversary in Selma 

Groups Taking Action:

Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Selma Center for Nonviolence

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State

Please follow us on Facebook and Bluesky Social, and SHARE! 

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

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Are you a radio station?  Find our broadcast files at Pacifica Radio Network’s Audioport and PRX

#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #Selma #BloodySunday #VotingRights #JohnLewis

The post They Marched for Voting Rights and Were Beaten by Their Government.  On the 60th Anniversary of ‘Bloody Sunday’ the Struggle Continues appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for July 17, 2024

Today’s Script

(Variations occur with audio due to editing for time. Today’s Links below the script)

You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.

July 17th marks the anniversary of the death of civil rights icon and democracy champion Congressman John Lewis.  Exactly two years before he died, he gave a speech before the U.S. House on the right to vote, in support of the Voter Empowerment Act. We have an excerpt of his speech. 

(Unlike the audio report, we’ve included the entire speech below)

Congressman John Lewis will be honored with a National Day of Commemoration and Action in over 80 locations around the U.S. on July 17th.  We’ve linked to the schedule at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Office of Congressman John Lewis – Speech in the U.S. House, July 18, 2018
U.S. Congress – HR 12 Voter Empowerment Act

U.S. Congress – John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act  (2024)
Declaration for American Democracy – John Lewis National Day of Commemoration and Action Events

Groups Taking Action:
Declaration for American Democracy,  APIA Vote, Human Rights Campaign, League of Women Voters, Common Cause, NAACP Legal Defense Fund

Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter and SHARE!  

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

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Are you a radio station?  Find our broadcast files at Pacifica Radio Network’s Audioport and PRX

#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #JohnLewisAct #JohnLewis #GoodTrouble #FreedomtoVote

The post Civil Rights and Democracy Champion John Lewis Remembered With National Day of Commemoration and Action July 17th appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Sept. 21, 2023

Today’s Script

(Variations occur with audio due to editing for time. Today’s Links below the script)

You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.

September 19th, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, restoring protections stripped from the Voting Rights Act by the Supreme Court, was notably reintroduced by a Black Congresswoman from Alabama. 

Rep. Terri Sewell, whose own state recently defied a U.S. Supreme Court order to create a second majority-minority Black district, introduced the Act after the previous Congress failed to act on the bill in 2022.   

In 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court gutted the preclearance requirements in the 1965 Voting Rights Act in its Shelby County v. Holder decision, ruling that states with a history of voter discrimination no longer needed to clear their proposed voting laws with the Justice Department.

The Brennan Center reports that since then, 29 states passed 94 restrictive voting laws, including at least 29 laws in states that were previously subject to preclearance requirements. 

The John Lewis Act restores those “preclearance” requirements, and strengthens Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, allowing voters of color to bring court action to protect fair representation –  Alabama’s refusal to create a second Black district as an example.

In the current Congress, the John Lewis Act and its companion Freedom to Vote Act have hurdles, but passage would take giant steps in restoring the freedom to vote for all Americans.  

We have the text of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Office of Congresswoman Terri Sewell – Text HR 14, John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act
Democracy Docket – U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell Reintroduces the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act
Brennan Center for Justice – Fact Sheet for the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act
NAACP Legal Defense Fund – Why We Need the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act
Brennan Center for Justice – Voting Laws Roundup: February 2023
NPR – Restoring the Voting Rights Act is still on this Alabama Democrat’s agenda

Groups Taking Action:
Declaration for American Democracy, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, League of Women Voters US, Common Cause US,  Public Citizen, and hundreds more groups.

Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter and SHARE! 
Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org
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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #JohnLewisVotingRightsAct #VotingRights #FreedomtoVote

The post John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act Reintroduced in the U.S. House, Aiming to Restore the Voting Rights Act appeared first on American Democracy Minute.